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Magazine features quilt by UTMB nursing faculty member

February 26, 2007

For immediate release: Feb. 26, 2007

GALVESTON, Texas - A quilt created by Carol M. Wiggs, an assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston School of Nursing, was featured in the January 2007 of the American Journal of Nursing. The quilt was selected for the magazine's Art of Nursing feature.The quilt, titled "Metamorphosis," measures 14 x 20 inches.

In submitting her quilt to the magazine, Wiggs wrote, "In 1998, shortly before my 50th birthday, I was diagnosed with bilateral ovarian tumors. This news came just a short time after a close friend died of ovarian cancer. I underwent a complete hysterectomy and removal of both ovaries. Hormone replacement therapy and even herbal alternatives were not options for me. It was a chaotic time."

"My art quilts serve as narrative expressions," she wrote. "As part of a research project for my doctoral program, I made this quilt to convey my experience of menopause. The black bands across the bottom represent the turmoil I felt when I was diagnosed. The stormy sky and red flashes signify the experience of surgical menopause. The butterfly illustrates my shaking off chaos, represented by the trail of falling black triangles."
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